Fundraising by private Chinese property developers plummeted by 66 per cent to a seven-year low last year, according to mainland Chinese real estate consultancy CRIC . The developers raised 227.1 billion yuan (US$33.08 billion) in 2022, a decline of 66 per cent from the previous year, the consultancy said in a report on Sunday. Fundraising at these developers has been in decline since 2020, when their financing rose 13 per cent year on year to a seven-year high of 1.24 trillion yuan before Beijing unleashed its “three red lines” policy in August 2020 and triggered a slide, CRIC said. Fundraising by developers plunged 45 per cent to 676.8 billion yuan the following year. “ In 2023 , there will be a wave of debt repayments,” the consultancy said. “While some developers will be able to relieve this pressure through restructurings, many others will not do so.” China’s property sector saw its heyday in 2016, when funds raised by developers rose by as much as 51 per cent to 854.7 billion yuan. As China thaws out its property sector, can it light a fire under the economy? But last year saw some of the biggest drops in funds raised by private developers. In April, they raised 91 per cent less from a month earlier to secure only 5.4 billion yuan. In October, the figure dipped further to 1.3 billion yuan with a 92 per cent decrease. The credit crisis – triggered by Beijing’s “three red lines” policy – has since 2020 ensnared big names such as China Evergrande Group and Sunac China Holdings . About 44 per cent of private developers are “risky businesses” based on their default records, CRIC said. These include Sunac, Shimao Group, Jinke Property and Tahoe Group. Only 7 per cent, such as Longfor, Country Garden and Hangzhou Binjiang Real Estate Group, are considered “benchmark firms”, the consultancy said. They have been cleared by auditors for three consecutive years, have not defaulted and are deemed systemically important by Beijing. These benchmark firms are finding financing opportunities more easily, CRIC said. They accounted for 35 per cent of all funds raised by private developers in 2022, up from just 12 per cent in 2019. The risky firms, on the other hand, are raising less and less. They made up only 29 per cent of financing last year, down from 56 per cent a year earlier. China home prices halt 16-month skid to hold firm in January While Beijing’s “three arrows” liquidity package – bank credit, bond issuances and equity financing – might help developers to a limited extent, the financing environment for private firms is yet to recover, CRIC said. Banks and bonds tend to support firms with good financial records, equity financing is not a sustainable way to raise funds and offshore financing remains in “an ice age”, it added. “It will take [private developers] a long time to resolve their liquidity crisis and get back on track,” the consultancy said.